tax increases are not. but underlying all of that, foundational to all of that, is putting america back to work. getting americans back into their jobs. if we do that we will clearly increase employment and when you increase employment you always increase tax revenue to the federal government, to state governments and local governments. so our principle task as i see it and i think i'm joined by many of my colleagues, both democratic and republican, is to get the american economy going. to put it back in gear. and there are many reasons beyond just employment and the opportunities that family have -- families have to make it. one of the critical elements in all of this is to protect americans. we recently saw superstorm san joaquin smash into -- sandy smash into new jersey and new york with devastating results. loss of life, incredible loss of property, both public and private, and a very, very big cleanup bill. joining me in a little while will be some of our representatives from the state of new york. and